At Manshead we believe that Geography; as a ‘world discipline’, is a crucial subject that allows our students to flourish by gaining knowledge and wisdom which increases their understanding of the magnificent world around them. We aim to instil a love of Geography which leads to a sense of awe and belonging to the diversity and complexity of our world.

Geography at Manshead stretches and challenges all learners at every key stage of the course. The curriculum has been carefully planned and sequenced so that all learners are able to flourish by reaching their full potential. The sequence of teaching and learning is well-balanced and progressive to accommodate the cognitive and learning needs of all learners so that they can gradually gain an understanding of physical and human processes, systems and interactions, apply their understanding to a variety of problems and issues at a range of scales, and demonstrate their ability to evaluate and make judgements about complex socio-economic and geo-political issues through both formative and summative assessments.

Learning beyond the classroom is advantageous to making progress in Geography.

We promote learning beyond the classroom through a diverse range of fieldwork opportunities such as river fieldwork in Amersham, coastal fieldwork in the Norfolk Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, urban fieldwork in local residential areas and nearby towns like Harpenden. In lessons students regularly explore local and international locations through virtual fieldwork using GIS. By exploring our world at a range of scales, the Geography department promotes the idea of faith, compassion and concern as global citizens of the Earth.

Students are encouraged to gain deeper insights about important themes and issues in the modern world by engaging critically with the wider research and developments in the discipline. This is achieved through the department’s subscriptions to subject journal and academic publications such as National Geographic and Geographical Review. These literatures are adapted for teaching and incorporated into schemes of learning and shared with pupils.